‘Mentally It’s Starting To Weigh’ – Sunderland Out-on-loan Star On Situation | OneFootball

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Sunderland out-on-loan star Pierre Ekwah has admitted the situation of loan club Saint-Etienne as they battle to survive in Ligue 1 is taking a mental toll on the squad.

The Black Cats midfielder is spending the season in France at Saint-Etienne and they have an option to keep him on a permanent basis that they can trigger.

Saint-Etienne managed to spring a surprise when they beat rivals Lyon last weekend, but were then beaten 3-1 by Strasbourg on Saturday.

They sit second from bottom in the Ligue 1 table, one point behind the relegation playoff spot and three points off safety, although their goal difference means a four-point gap may need to be bridged.

Ekwah admits that being in the relegation zone week after week is starting to take a mental toll on the side.

He feels that Saint-Etienne need to push harder and give more mentally to try to get out of trouble in the coming weeks.

“The derby was great, but there’s an even bigger challenge to achieve, which is staying up”, Ekwah was quoted as saying by Made In Foot.

“Weekend after weekend it’s complicated, we know our situation and mentally it’s starting to weigh on us, that’s for sure.

“We have to be more decisive, we have to win the duels in our two boxes, which we didn’t do today against Strasbourg.

“Mentally we’re there, we can still come back from the score, as we often do during the season, but we have to do more and get ahead, that demands more.”

Saint-Etienne have just three more games in Ligue 1 to save themselves and next up for Les Verts is a visit from Monaco.

Monaco sit in third spot and looking to make sure they qualify for next season’s Champions League, meaning they will not ease up at Saint-Etienne.

If Saint-Etienne are relegated, they may well be unlikely to trigger the £6m option to keep Ekwah.